SUBMARINE SMUGGLINGDragging Drugs on the Ocean FloorINTERVIEW BY SANTIAGO STELLEY
Photos by Bernardo Loyola, David Feinberg, and Dr. Miguel Angel Montoya
| A hollowed-out torpedo used to traffic tons of narcotics out of Colombia. It was confiscated and now resides at the Colombian navy’s Málaga base. |
The greatest obstacle facing drug cartels has always been transporting narcotics from the poor regions that produce them to the less-poor areas that buy them. In the early part of the 2000s, a time still dominated by incarcerated Cali Cartel heads in Colombia, a technological breakthrough was made on this front: privately made drug-filled torpedoes and semi-submersibles.
Dr. Miguel Angel Montoya is the former trafficker who spearheaded the project, which attached simple radio devices to compartmentalized tubes the cartel hitched to modest towboats—in effect taking much of the battle out of the skies. If a marine patrol became suspicious, the device was simply jettisoned and retrieved by a backup cartel boat tracking its signal. All these years later, Montoya still doesn’t believe that international customs agents will ever thwart the well-funded research-and-development efforts of international drug outfits.
Vice: Can you tell me what it is you do?
Dr. Miguel Angel Montoya: I’m a doctor and former member of an organization dedicated to drug trafficking.
I understand this was the Cali Cartel. How were you recruited?
The organization needed a Mexican contact in Colombia, and my friend was the catalyst. It was my first experience with cocaine trafficking between Colombia and Mexico.
What was your role?
Initially, I traveled to Colombia to take coordinates for the flight drops. I was the liaison who made sure everything got done.
And eventually you were part of the revolution that changed how drugs are transported.
In 2000, an engineer friend of mine in Medellín had the idea that a hollowed-out torpedo could serve to transport anywhere between 500 kilos and five tons of cocaine.
Can you explain the design?
It was based on torpedoes used in the war, and in blueprints we showed how it consisted of a tube within a tube. The inner tube was divided into five chambers that would help prevent flooding in the case of a collision.
Were they propulsion torpedoes?
They were towed, actually, with a steel cable as long as 1,000 feet. Steel cable creates a lot of tension on a towboat, though, and reeling it in is difficult.
In the event you were spotted, the alternative to reeling in the torpedo was to cut it loose?
Yes, it would be cut loose from a security latch. The cable would stay with the torpedo and you would get as far away as possible. The device stayed submerged and it was impossible to find.
But how would the runners find it?
We adapted an attachment for a radio transmitter on top. This had a timer and a GPS device, which was monitored on the boat. The boat transmitted the frequency of the radio buoy via a decoder and a radio VHS, which was activated with a clock, and we would always have the location via satellite.
Where did you get the idea for the radio transmitter?
Well, we saw how tuna boats dragged buoys that held fishing nets. We modified the buoys by removing the flotation devices and inserting an electronic mechanism.
Very clever.
The idea was adapted from other existing things. The fishing buoys were there, and torpedoes existed. It simply occurred to someone to put one with the other. It’s not sophisticated. They are applied ideas.
How did you control the depth of the torpedo during the tow?
The tube had a ballast system that allowed water into a chamber, which caused it to submerge. When water was released, it allowed the torpedo to emerge. The advantage was that if you were traveling fast it submerged as many as 100 feet and couldn’t be seen.
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| cat power, on May 8, 2009 wrote:
This just goes to show you the way of will. Anyone who can’t get a 9-5 out there shut your trap. You have guys with a 3rd grade edu building subs from phony charities they put up and FUCKING USING THEM all the way to mexico. talk about motivation. | | Anonymous, on May 8, 2009 wrote:
Fuck Mexico for being the hub of drug trafficking. Colombia is not like it used to be without esocobar. | | Anonymous, on May 8, 2009 wrote:
whats crazy it that they’re building these things in the jungle. The rainforest is shitting out makeshift semi-submersibles. | | Anonymous, on May 8, 2009 wrote:
"I’m a doctor and former member of an organization dedicated to drug trafficking."
Word. Talk about being a versatilist. | | Anonymous, on May 7, 2009 wrote:
awww only a ton of coke on each flight? boo! | | Anonymous, on May 7, 2009 wrote:
well, let’s just put it this way, america is spending tons of money fighting the war on drugs but at the same time they’re bringing in the drugs. what does that say? | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
am i supposed to root for or against these guys? i mean, yay american and all that, but still, i want my drugs, you know? | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
Fucking boring interview. The lead-in tells you about as much information in a more exciting way. | |
| chickenhead, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
demolecularize cocaine? whoa...if they’ve been able to figure that out, then transportation wouldn’t be so much of a big deal in the first place no? | |
| bird is the word, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
@aahhhB, @anonymous - well, the article refers to a hallowed out torpedo (fully submerged) being hauled by a boat. on the other hand, VBS covers the make-shift "submarines" which are only partially submerged due to the fact that they don’t have an advanced oxygen/pressure control system like REAL submarines. | |
| aahhhhB, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
@ anonymous
he says that "When the boat slowed down, the device emerged and could be seen." so maybe thats why they are considered on "semi submerged" | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
mm, Columbia is just so typical. you can always rely on them for a good cocaine article. | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
Im confused because on the VBS coverage of this they describe them as semi-submerged and not fully underwater. which way is it? | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
I wish my doctor was a former drug trafficker. I could definitely trust that | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
The DEA will always be playing catch-up. Sadly, this is the same way it will always be with terrorism as well. Think how much safer we’d be if we put all our money towards terrorism instead of drugs. | | Anonymous, on May 4, 2009 wrote:
Genius. The war on drugs is a joke. There will always be a way. | | Anonymous, on May 1, 2009 wrote:
hmm i though the last batch tasted a little rusty. no fucking wonder. | |
| tallywacker, on May 1, 2009 wrote:
the drug cartels basically run the show in colombia. they are protected from arrest and trial. | | Anonymous, on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
how is he not being legally reprimanded.. i mean he is admitting he was involved with drug trafficking! doesn’t that warrant and arrest | | Anonymous, on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
his book title makes no sense... "Yesterday, Doctor. Today, Narco-Trafficker: The Mexican That Wanted to Be Pablo Escobar." ??
| | Anonymous, on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
he’s so modest about how unbelievably clever his idea is. How refreshing! a humble drug trafficker | |
| joe bananas , on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
you know that there must be remote control style carriers in opperation already. it seems like such a simple answer, would they be able to trace who is in control of the transporter? | | Anonymous, on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
part of me is kind of suprised that some drugs havent been legalised, in these economic times you wold think that the govt. would be up for cashing in as much as possible...... | | Anonymous, on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
can you imagine if you were in mexico and a cocaine torpedo washed up on the shore......holy fuck that would be the best holiday ever. | | Anonymous, on Apr 27, 2009 wrote:
I want to be a member of an organization dedicated to drug trafficking. can you imagine the look on someones face when they ask you what you do....priceless. | | |
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